1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to glass panels formed by glass plates separated from one another by a spacer. More particularly, the present invention relates to such a glass panel, which is filled with a translucent insulating material, and to a method of manufacturing such a glass panel.
2. Description of the Prior Act
Translucent insulated glass panels have long been of interest in the building and construction industries. The reason is clear—such panels, while not transparent, allow a great deal of light to pass through them into a building, while inhibiting the flow of heat into or out of the building.
It has long been desired to use aerogel materials for filling the space between the glass plates of a panel of this variety. However, the use of such materials has been discouraged by their tendency to settle over time in response to subtle environmental vibrations and to slight movements caused by temperature-related expansion and contraction as well as by changes in atmospheric pressure, leaving, in time, an empty space or gap at the top of the panel. This unsightly effect has heretofore really discouraged the use of aerogel materials for this purpose.
The present invention provides a solution to this problem, which has long vexed those in the building and construction trades.